


i belong with you (you belong with me)

by budapestagain (orphan_account)



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Cherik - Freeform, Erik Stayed, Fluff, M/M, Post-X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), a bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 17:23:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7447669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/budapestagain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik decided to stay at the school. <br/>That one descision finalises the end of the love story, spanning out over decades.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i belong with you (you belong with me)

Erik told Charles about his time as Henryk like it was a fairy-tale.

After the whole school, including the X-Men, had gone to bed (or in Peter’s case, had gone to play Pac-Man in his room), Charles and Erik met up in Charles’ office to play chess and talk. At first, the conversation was stunted, both scared of setting off the other, but, after a few nights of this, the conversation started flowing. Charles filled him on the school and the students. After he’d run out of tales about the last ten years, Erik began telling his own.

He never referenced himself, never made it personal. He told the stories using _Henryk_ and _he_ , keeping his emotions out of it.

Tonight, he had finished. Erik had reached the point where his wife and daughter had died, reached the point Charles knew about. Neither of them actually mentioned the deaths but the tears in both of their eyes showed something greater – a silent understanding. Charles was mourning Alex, and though it was never going to be the same, their grief was shared and channelled into a vigorous match that night.

Erik won. He didn’t celebrate his victory with a smirk as he usually did. Instead he simply stretched and glanced at the clock on the wall, eyes widening as he read the time. “It’s almost two,” he said and Charles shared his surprise as he looked at the clock himself. “What time do we have to be up tomorrow?”

“I’m teaching a lesson at eight, straight after breakfast.” Charles sighed, heavily. “We really should have kept track of time. Bed?” He suggested. At Erik’s nod, they both walked up to their adjoining bedrooms. Charles had always used the bedroom connected to his for any injured or important guests but, in the last month, the guest room had been set to another room, allowing Erik to move in and make it more like home.

They both went into Charles’ bedroom first.

It was another part of their routine. Before they settled down for bed, they wrote down the results of the game in their ‘chess notebook’. Charles added another point under Erik’s name then smiled at the man himself, almost nervously. This was what they did every night but tonight felt different. They’d reached the end of Erik’s story. What more could they talk about during their matches?

Their goodbyes were usually quick, sometimes a hug or a pat on the back, a smile and then Erik went to his bedroom and Charles got into bed. He was walking again, thanks to a serum Hank had developed with Raven’s help. She’d learnt a few things over the past few years and therefore he had everything back again.

He had his sister and Erik and his legs and his telepathy and his school.

“Goodnight, Erik,” Charles said, gaze unintentionally drifting to his bed. He was tired but he didn’t want the night to end.

“I should let you get some rest,” Erik replied.

“Or-” Charles stopped before he could offer up his proposition. He was about to ask Erik if he wanted to stay with him, for the night. But he couldn’t just put it out there, he had to soften the deal, make it seem less strange. “Do you remember when we were recruiting mutants, all those years ago? We used to share motel rooms and when they didn’t have enough beds, we’d share them.”

“I remember.” Erik looked nostalgic. “We were so innocent and young.”

“Perhaps never innocent but naive.” There was a pause before Charles continued. “I was wondering if you wanted to, uh, sleep here tonight. I missed you.” He missed the warmth of another body next to his and the comforting sound of Erik’s steady breathing. After Cuba, Charles would drink himself to sleep and he couldn’t gather up the energy to pick up people at bars. Then, after the events with Raven, Charles got better, he built up the school again and then he got his life back, slowly. No-one ever felt the same as Erik, though. No-one quite matched the happiness he had brought to Charles.

“Sleep?” Erik raised an eyebrow. “In your bed with you?”

“I’m sorry. It was a bad idea.” Charles went to sit on his bed, smoothing out the creases on his blankets to ease the discomfort settling in his stomach. Erik sat beside him, resting a hand on Charles’ thigh. “Erik-”

“I think that it would help.” Erik’s voice was quiet, uncertain, so Charles ran his fingers over the back of Erik’s hand. “Please.”

Charles climbed over to the other side of the bed, resting his head on the pillow. “Are you coming?” Charles teased, deliberately dragging out the sentence because Erik was blushing at the words. Erik crawled over, pulling the covers over them both with a small smile. “I really have missed you,” Charles whispered. The lights were turned off with a wave of Erik’s hand and they were left in semi-darkness, able to see each other just by the dim glow from the open window.

“I feel like no time has passed at all,” Erik said. He reached out to pat Charles’ bald head. “Although some things have changed.”

“Shut up,” Charles snapped. He rolled, facing away from Erik. To his surprise, an arm wrapped around his waist, hand splayed out on his stomach, and Erik pulled him closer, nuzzling into his neck. “I don’t get why it’s not growing back.”

“Give it time, Charles, old friend,” Erik said.

It had been a sore spot for Charles for the past few months. Everyone had avoided that subject for a while until Peter and Scott came back from the mall with a wig. Erik and Raven hadn’t stopped laughing for about an hour, much to Charles’ chagrin. Even Hank had cracked a smile. After that, the jokes came fast and steady, until they’d run out.

Charles was dreading Christmas presents this year.

“Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight.” Erik tightened his grip, almost like he couldn’t bear to let go. Charles knew how he felt. “Sweet dreams.”

 

 

“Charles!”

The door opened, banging against the wall, and then there was a surprised gasp before some laughter.

Charles sat up, quickly, disentangling himself from Erik, who was sleepily murmuring his name. Raven was stood at the door, eyes wide, with a grinning Peter.

“You’re ten minutes late for your lesson,” Raven said. “I was wondering what had kept you. Clearly, you’re…um, preoccupied.”

“Raven, we-” Charles tried to explain but she shut the door. He was worried that she would be mad but a split second after the door closed, he heard her raucous laughter echoing down the hallway. “Oh God.” He led back down and faced Erik. “I suppose that rumours will be spreading.”

Erik leaned forward and lazily kissed Charles’ nose, still half-asleep. Then his eyes shot open and he stared. “I’m sorry,” he said, hastily. “I was just still caught up in my dream, I guess.”

“Were you dreaming about your wife?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“I could…I could erase your memories of them.”

“No. No. I think that the pain will keep me grounded.” Erik moved closer to brush his lips against Charles’ forehead. “Thank you, though.”

Charles didn’t understand the sudden displays of affection but he welcomed them, nonetheless.

“It reminds me of what I lost,” Erik continued. “So I can remember that I need to stay with you, no matter what happens. I _want_ to stay with you, okay?”

“Okay,” Charles repeated. “Okay.”

 

 

 

They’d gotten out of bed five minutes later.

Erik had chosen a blue t-shirt for Charles and a pair of tailored black pants. Charles had, of course, worn them without hesitation, ignoring Raven’s appreciative whistle as he walked into the classroom. The rest of the lesson had gone by without a hitch, apart from Jean snapping at Scott about something.

Now Charles and Raven were wandering around the grounds, talking about trivial things. Then Raven started laughing. “What?” Charles demanded, irritated.

“Just you and Erik, this morning. It was adorable. I didn’t know that you two were-”

“We’re not…” Charles sighed, looking across the lake to where Hank was helping Scott with target practice. “Is Hank okay?”

“I think so. Why?”

“He was close to Alex, wasn’t he? Has he taken the death hard?” Charles asked.

“He just seems to be taking an interest in Scott.” Raven shrugged. “Helping him, telling him stories about his brother. Now, stop changing the subject. You and Erik are definitely something.”

“His wife and child died. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t just start up a relationship with him. He’s still grieving.”

“He’s loved you for a lot longer than he’s loved her.”

“Raven, that’s not how it works and you know it. Besides, he loves me as a friend.” Charles got distracted when he saw a familiar figure leaning on the bridge, looking at the water below. “I’ll talk to you later,” he said to Raven and made his way over, copying Erik’s pose. “What brings you out here?”

“Peter told me some surprising news.” Erik looked at him, a small smile playing on his lips. “I’m his father.”

“Ah,” Charles said. “I suspected something but I didn’t think I should probe Peter’s mind, nor yours.” He didn’t read Erik’s mind, not anymore.

“I don’t know what to do. I mean, he’s my _son_. Should I carry on being a friend or should I play the role of a father?”

“You could be both.” Charles smiled up at him. “This could be good for you. You are already a father figure to some of the students. They look up to you. You saved the world.”

“Inspiring, Charles, but I don’t want to mess this up. Peter seems to be happy with me as his parent. I don’t want to ruin that thought.”

“You won’t, I promise. Listen, I have a class soon and Peter is overseeing it so that he can find out how to teach the students. Why don’t you sit at the back with him?”

“That sounds good.”

They walked to the school, walking so close together that their arms were brushing against each other. Charles wanted to say something. He was sure that Erik would be a great father to Peter. They were already like parents to most of the students, especially the younger ones. Once they’d gotten over their fear of ‘Magneto’, they had started looking up to him, with Charles’ encouragement.

Once they were inside, Erik pulled Charles into an empty room, hand resting on his shoulder. The hand moved up to his jaw, a gentle touch that had Charles’ heart hammering against his ribcage. “Erik, what are you-”

Their lips met with the smallest amount of contact possible for a second, maybe two, then Erik pulled away, forehead resting against Charles’ own. They stared at each other for a while, Charles aching for another _real_ kiss. That was the sort of kiss he’d give a family member or a friend or someone he wanted to tease.

“You’re grieving,” Charles said, automatically. This was a mistake. Erik was vulnerable. “We can’t do this. The woman you loved died, just a few months ago.”

“Do you know how I felt about you?” Erik asked, voice hushed as students walked past the closed door, giggling and chatting. “I changed my mind about destroying the world because I thought of what you told me, all those years ago. You said that you can see good inside of me. I changed my mind because I didn’t want to let you down.”

“Oh, Erik, you have never let me down,” Charles said. That seemed to spark something because Erik kissed him, again. This time it was rougher; they were pressed against each other. Charles tugged on Erik’s hair and in return, Erik lifted him up onto a desk. For the first time since they’d met, they had infinite time to spend together. There wasn’t a war or a crisis or a mutant god trying to destroy the world. The only immediate problem Charles was facing was whether to give up on his afternoon lessons to spend all day with Erik.

Eventually, Erik pulled away, his signature shark-like smile aimed at Charles. “That was-”

“We shouldn’t have-”

“Charles, don’t look so guilty. _I_ kissed _you_. I’ve wanted this for a long time. And, don’t worry; you’re not just something to help me get over her. You are you, not her.”

Charles nodded, some of his worry sated. “But this still isn’t right, Erik. We need to wait a few more weeks, at least. I want to make sure that this is really what you want.”

“It is,” Erik said. “But I’ll wait, if that’s what you want.”

“How about you focus on Peter?”

Charles grabbed Erik’s hand and kissed his forehead. _We have time_ , he reminded himself, _we have all the time in the world_. If something came up, if a danger came up, Charles wouldn’t hesitate. He’d grab Erik and kiss him, in front of the others, in front of the whole world if he had to. But for now, they could wait.

 

 

Their maybe-relationship became a routine.

They would teach classes in the morning, privately training the X-Men or spending leisure time with the others, talking and walking round, in their breaks. Then they’d eat lunch together, either alone or with the students. Afternoons brought more classes for Erik and paperwork for Charles. The evenings were filled with stolen looks as the X-Men trained then as they relaxed in their common room, playing games and watching TV. The younger ones went to bed first, followed by Hank who was closely followed by Raven. Peter stayed for a while with Charles and Erik, talking about their lives. Peter seemed particularly interested in Erik’s hunt for revenge on Shaw, aided by Charles, in the 60s. After Peter went to bed, always giving Erik a hug and patting Charles on his head, they stayed up for a while, playing chess. Whoever won would dictate what they did once they were curled up in the same bed. Erik liked having Charles read to him. He read anything: poems, novels, articles he found interesting. They were currently halfway through _A Tale of Two Cities._ When Charles won, they talked about topics that usually wouldn’t come up in everyday conversation.

Charles had won, tonight.

“What’s the subject of tonight?” Erik asked as Charles leant against his chest, hand stroking Erik’s. “New technological advances? The possibility of extra-terrestrial life?”

“Soulmates,” Charles replied.

“I’m guessing that this isn’t just out of the blue.” Erik seemed to tense up but he didn’t recoil from Charles’ touch.

“Jean and I were discussing it today.”

“She’s a smart girl.” Erik paused. “Do you believe in soulmates?”

“I believe in something. Maybe not souls but the connection of two people that will not be broken – it can withstand time, it can remain unbroken through all struggles.” Charles felt the movement of Erik’s chest as he laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“I had a feeling that you were going somewhere with this,” Erik said. “Time and struggle, they are things we have experienced in plenty since we first met. We have been apart for longer than we have been together, yet my feelings over that time have never wavered.”

“Not even when you were married?”

“I loved her. A part of me still does. It’s still painful when I think of her but do you want to know the greatest pain I have ever felt?”

“Tell me.”

“It was when I injured you in Cuba. It was when I left you on that godforsaken beach.”

“Can you turn off the lights?” Charles asked and the room fell into darkness. After a while, Erik’s breathing started to slow down and Charles’ eyes fluttered close. “I love you,” he whispered before he could drift off but Erik didn’t reply.

 

 

Sundays were peaceful. They woke up and had breakfast and went for a walk, sitting by Erik’s favourite tree – a willow – as Charles marked his students’ papers and Erik watched him.

Sundays were always quiet. There were no classes on Sundays, not even optional ones.

“Peter starts teaching tomorrow,” Charles said, putting down his pen.

“He told me,” Erik replied. “I’m proud of him.”

“Me too.” Charles waited for a heartbeat before turning to his maybe-partner. Everything was a maybe. It was all uncertain. “Last week, did you hear me?”

“When?”

“I love you.”

Erik looked at him with wide eyes. “When did you say that?”

“I think you were asleep.” Charles said. “So I told you the truth. I told you that I loved you.”

“I love you too,” Erik said. Charles laughed in relief as Erik pulled him into a hug, peppering his jaw with light kisses. They hadn’t kissed since the first time they had, in the empty classroom, weeks ago. Erik’s soft lips moved to Charles’ and they both wrapped themselves in each other.

 

 

“Charles!”

Charles ran round the corner at Jean’s scream. She was holding a mouth to her hand as she stared down at the floor. A man Charles vaguely recognised was lying on the floor yelling out in pain as Erik, covered in blood, held his hand out, visibly straining. Storm was holding Peter back, who was sporting a series of claw marks on his face.

“Erik, stop!” Charles yelled and his boyfriend looked up, dropping his hand. Jean replaced him by keeping the man pinned to the floor.

“It’s him,” Jean was saying. “The man we saw when we were rescuing the others from this base.”

Charles listened to her but he had recognised the man. Logan, the man with the bone claws from ten years ago. The man from the future who had helped them with Raven.

“Erik,” Charles said, “do you remember him?”

“Of course I do.” Erik walked over to Charles. “But he is himself again, his past self. He came in here, looking angry, and when Peter asked him who he was, he attacked him so I stepped in and-”

“That’s why you’re bleeding so heavily?” Charles narrowed his eyes.

“He was attacking my _son_.”

“You should have called me before it got out of hand.” Charles grabbed a cloth from the side table and wiped at Erik’s face, ignoring his winces of pain. “You were reckless and now you’re hurt.” A particularly deep cut had Charles’ stomach turning. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern replacing his anger.

“I’m fine.” Erik took the cloth away from him, knowing that the red stained onto it would make Charles panic. “I’m fine,” he repeated but his voice was wavering. “I’ve had worse.”

“I know.” Charles glanced briefly at the others, wondering how much they knew about their relationship. “But I’ll always worry,” he added. He turned back to Logan. “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“I heard about a school for mutants. I thought that you’d help me. Then I recognised them and I panicked,” Logan said, gruffly. “I’m sorry for attacking your son,” he added to Erik. “But it was pure instinct.”

“Why do you need our help?”

“It’s a tough world out there for a mutant.” Logan grimaced. “I thought I could offer my expertise here. As a teacher or a general bodyguard or something.”

“That would be good,” Charles said. “We’ll need a few interviews first but that’d really just be a formality.” He was steadily ignoring Erik’s glare but cracked when Erik scoffed. “Erik, do you have a problem?”

“No, no, as long as he doesn’t go near Peter, I don’t have a problem.” Erik smiled coldly.

Charles sighed and held out his hand for Logan to shake. “Welcome to the team,” he said.

 

 

Erik was still mad at him the next morning.

They’d gone about their daily business, maybe with a little less interaction than usual. Erik had been stitched up by Hank. After the others had gone to bed, Charles proposed a game of chess and it was spent in silence. Erik had won because Charles wasn’t trying but when Charles had picked up a book of poems, Erik had shaken his head.

“Can we just go to sleep?” Erik had said. “I’m tired.”

Charles had nodded and they’d gone to bed, barely touching.

Erik had woken up and gone to breakfast before Charles. When Charles went down to breakfast, Erik hadn’t even greeted him, apart from a quick (and fake) smile to acknowledge his presence. Charles hated it. He didn’t understand why Erik couldn’t see the benefits of hiring Logan.

Charles sat next to Erik, passing him a fresh cup of coffee. The students around them looked curious at the obvious rift between them this morning. “Erik,” Charles said. “Talk to me.”

“I am talking to you.”

“Telling me that you’re tired and just want to sleep isn’t talking to me,” Charles replied. More people were listening in now and Charles was regretting letting it slip that they slept in the same bed. “Why are you mad at me? Because I hired Logan? You know that Peter agreed that it was a good choice, right? He said that he was a ‘cool guy’.”

“I don’t care what Peter thinks. It’s my opinion.” Erik pushed the coffee away from him, towards Charles. Raven had entered the room now and was approaching them.

“This isn’t just about this,” Charles said. “Is it?” Erik looked down. “Erik, talk to me. Is this about us?”

“Us?”

“Erik, don’t play dumb.” Charles grabbed Erik’s hand and brought it towards his lips. He kissed the back of it and then the tips of his fingers. Erik looked annoyed but he didn’t pull away. “How about we make a deal? You tell me what’s wrong and I will stop asking.”

“That’s a terrible deal.” Erik grabbed Charles and pulled him closer. “Let me make a new one. If you stop asking me, I’ll tell you tonight, I promise. When we’re in bed and we’re alone and with the lights turned off, I’ll tell you.”

“Okay,” Charles said and kissed Erik, gently, to the accompaniment of the cat-calls of his students and Scott’s confused questions.

 

 

“Do you love him?” Jean asked later that day. She was helping him supervise some of the younger students as they played basketball. For humans, it was a one-teacher job, but with mutants with uncontrollable powers, it required two people, normally, especially because Charles wasn’t much of a fighter.

“Jean!” Charles exclaimed. “That’s out of line.”

“That means you do.” She paused to cheer as a little girl score a goal. “Have you told him?”

“Yes,” Charles said, dejectedly giving in. “And before you ask, yes, he’s said he loves me too.”

“Why were you arguing?”

“He said he’s going to tell me tonight.”

“Do you believe that?”

“Yes, he promised,” Charles said.

 

 

Peter was curious, Erik knew that much. Homosexuality was still very much considered a bad thing. It wasn’t spoken about. It was regarded as something strange. Peter had to have questions. The only reason Erik hadn’t revealed his relationship with Charles sooner was because he was worried about the reactions. Students, he didn’t care about, and he knew that young people these days were open-minded. He cared about Raven and Hank and Peter.

Raven was accepting. She didn’t mind. She’d come to sit with them at breakfast, with probing questions about their relationship.

Hank seemed a bit flustered, at first, but that was mainly because he never thought that Charles and Erik liked each other that way. When he’d explained this after Raven’s angry demands that ‘if he was going to be against this, he could leave’, she had laughed.

Erik was sat on the bench, thinking of the beautiful look on Charles’ face when he’d kissed him that morning, when Peter sat next to him.

“You’re dating Xavier, huh?” Peter said, pushing his sunglasses up his nose.

“For two weeks now,” Erik said, “maybe more. It depends what you count as a relationship. I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know if you’d react well or-”

“It’s gross,” Peter interrupted him and Erik felt his stomach drop. Choosing between his son and the man he loved – something he wished he never had to do. “I mean, you’re my dad. You shouldn’t be kissing people in front of me. I don’t want to see you two sucking on each other’s tongues or whatever.”

“You’re a good kid,” Erik said with a smile. “So you have no problem with me and Charles?”

“Honestly, I think you two had a lot of tension ten years ago so there’s no reason why that should have changed.” Peter patted his father’s shoulder. “Can I go to the mall with Scott?”

“Has Charles given you permission?”

“Uh, I kind of hoped you’d tell him.”

“Wh-”

“Thanks, Pops.” Peter kissed his cheek and shot off. Erik sighed, head in hands. Having a grown up son was a lot more trouble than he’d thought.

 

 

Charles won chess that night. They had played it early, not bothering to hide their relationship from the students anymore. When walking to Charles’ classroom, they got waylaid by Peter and Scott, wearing new clothes.

“Where have you been today?” Charles demanded. “Neither of you turned up for training.”

“You didn’t tell him?” Peter turned to Erik with a scowl.

“I thought you’d get back before he noticed you were missing. When you didn’t, I decided that it was in your hands.” Erik folded his arms, glaring right back at Peter. “We’re your guardians and we have a right to punish you as we see fit.”

“I’m not a student!”

“Only a few months ago, Scott was. And you’re my _son._ I can do whatever the hell I like.”

“Well-put,” Charles said, nodding enthusiastically.

“You two aren’t our parents,” Scott said.

Charles sighed, putting his arm round Erik, leaning into his shoulder. “Why did I ever think we could bring up a school full of mutant teenagers? That’s got to be like a hundred teenage rebellions at once.”

“It’s a disaster,” Erik added, shaking his head in mock sadness. “Guys, just do whatever you want, we’ll be fine. We’ll cope through our suffering.”

Peter rolled his eyes and patted his father’s arm. “Night,” he said.

“Goodnight.” Erik waited until they’d zoomed off, Peter holding onto Scott, before he resumed walking. Charles ran to catch up with him, interlocking their fingers. “What is our conversation topic about tonight?”

“Don’t act all innocent,” Charles said. “You promised that you’d tell me.” He opened the door to their now shared bedroom. Erik stepped in, already pulling off his turtleneck. Charles loved it when he wore them because it reminded them both of the old days. Erik equally loved Charles’ old shirt and jumper combinations. With a smile, he watched Erik strip before almost falling into bed, pulling the silk covers over him with a sigh.

“I’m too tired to talk.”

“Lousy excuse.”

“Come here.” Erik held out his arms. After putting on some pyjamas, Charles crawled into bed. As usual, Erik turned out the light and Charles kissed him lightly, glad that the darkness hid the overwhelming look of love on his face. “Where do you want to start?”

“Why were you mad at me yesterday?”

“You hired the man who attacked my son,” Erik said.

“Erik-”

“No, no, Charles, don’t try and justify this. He hurt Peter and I’m trying, I’m trying so damn hard to be a good parent because I don’t want to get him killed. When I saw Logan scratching him, he was yelling out in pain and I couldn’t help it. I ran and I stood in the way of his claws because I wanted to protect Peter.” Erik sighed heavily, planting a small kiss on Charles’ nose. “Like I want to protect you. Like I want to protect all of my family. Raven and Hank, included. I just…I don’t want to lose you again, Charles.”

“You’re not going to,” Charles answered. “You won’t lose us. We’re your family.”

“I know.” Erik sighed. “I’m going to go to sleep.”

Charles bit his lip as Erik rolled away, curling up. This felt like a break-up but this couldn’t be it. They couldn’t be finished now when they’d finally gotten together. He resisted the urge to say something and instead closed his eyes, willing sleep to come quickly.

 

 

They hadn’t broken up. They couldn’t – not after everything that had transpired between the two of them. But something was off. Erik was quiet and so Charles spoke more and louder to fill the silence. Sometimes they were fine and they laughed and kissed and it felt like it had before Cuba but then other times all the events of the past few decades weighed down on them and Charles would have to go to another room to wipe away tears.

The weeks that passed were all similar, neither of them bringing attention to the problem they had but both of them knowing that, at some point, they’d explode and the resulting shrapnel would be buried into them, causing irreversible damage. The others noticed the difference too. The X-Men quietly conferred when Charles and Erik weren’t around in worried low tones but nothing was resolved.

Until Christmas Eve.

“Charles, can we go to the mall?” Peter stopped in the middle of the crowded corridor, causing a disruption in the steadily moving traffic. Charles sighed and gestured to the nearest classroom for him to enter. Peter disappeared in a blur and Charles followed him, rubbing his eyes. He was exhausted. He’d hardly slept last night, exchanging the comfort of his bed and Erik for paperwork and his office chair. Arranging safe transportation home for a hundred young mutants was no easy job and Charles was more than slightly bitter about the lack of help he’d received from Erik.

It was Erik’s first Christmas without his daughter, in years, and so he was allowed his grief. But he was shutting Charles out.

“Late Christmas shopping?” Charles guessed as soon as he’d shut the classroom door.

Peter grinned and nodded. “What do you think Erik would want for Christmas? What’ve you got him?”

“My gift is a secret,” Charles said, ruminating over the past few Christmases. They’d always ended in disaster; Charles often retiring to bed early in defeat and tears. Maybe this year would be different.

It was snowing.

On the first day of December, Logan had gone outside, looking up at the blue sky. “It’s going to snow this year,” he’d predicted, much to Charles’ amusement.

“It never snows on Christmas, my friend,” Charles had clapped a hand on Logan’s back. “Rule of nature. Always screws us over. We never have a white Christmas here.”

“Bet you ten bucks that it snows.”

Charles could never resist a bet so this morning he’d begrudgingly passed a note to Logan over breakfast.

Now, he looked at Peter with soft eyes, noting the enthusiasm he was harbouring for Christmas.

“Erik has the same sense of humour as you do, as much as he hides it.” Charles told him. “I’m not sure what present that equates to but he’ll love anything you give him because it would be from you.”

“Okay, thanks.” Peter nodded and snapped his goggles on. “S’later, dude.”

“Have fun.”

Charles waited until the door had shut again, flapping wildly in the gust of wind Peter had brought, before walking to the window to watch his students board the bus that would be taking them home. A few people were being driven home by parents or – in some surprising cases – chauffeurs but the majority had opted for the bus Charles had rented.

As one of the more sensible elders, Erik was driving, knowing that he could manipulate the metallic structure to drive if he also had to reprimand a student or save someone’s life at the same time. The latter seemed more plausible as their many past field trips had concluded that having mutant teenagers in an enclosed moving vehicle was a bad idea. There had been a few fires and lots of complaints.

After a few minutes of last minute checking, the bus drove off. Charles spotted a flash of Erik’s smile before the bus turned out of sight. _Be safe_ , he projected into Erik’s mind and for a numbing second, there was just a cold silence before an almost happy voice returned, _wait for me_.

 

 

Part of Charles hated being around other people when he could be alone, with Erik, but he suppressed the part of him as he danced with Raven and a reluctant Hank to loud Christmas music.

Erik had initially avoided the dancing with the excuse of getting to know his son but Peter had then dragged him to the dance floor. Now he was awkwardly stepping around, attempting some sort of rhythm.

“Go dance with him,” Raven whispered into Charles’ ear with a smile, perhaps guessing the reason for Charles’ wistful staring. “C’mon, it’s Christmas.”

“Technically, it’s Christmas Eve,” Charles said.

“Don’t be so grumpy. Dance with him.”

Charles sighed and extracted himself from his current dance partners to join up with Erik, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close. “Merry Christmas Eve," he said, softly, brushing his lips against Erik’s neck.

“I stayed safe for you,” Erik replied, smiling down at Charles.

“And I waited for you.”

The music slowed down and Erik spun Charles, laughing at the surprise on his face. “You look beautiful,” Erik said. “I like the jumper.”

“I thought you would.” Charles leaned up to kiss the smirk off Erik’s face. “It’s an old one,” he added. “I found it a few years back in your old room and kept it. I always wondered what it was doing in there.”

“It must have been one of those nights when you slept in my bed,” Erik said. “I think I kept it.”

Charles smiled as Erik kissed his forehead. This was the sweet and gentle man he loved; the one who sung the younger students to sleep and teased Scott about Jean.

Charles had fallen in love with Erik so fast, back in the sixties, that he’d had no time to think about _why_ he loved him. It was a whirlwind of shared beds and hope and chess matches – a whirlwind that neither of them would admit to loving. They’d ended with a rather unceremonious bang in Cuba, where Charles lay in Erik’s arms. But that hadn’t been the ultimate end, it had been the end of that chapter of their lives – of their, Charles dared to think, love story. He’d stayed in love during the seventies, when he was full of drugs and anger, when he was seeing Erik for the first time again through new pained eyes, when he was being abandoned, _again_.

The impending apocalypse had given Charles a new start, a new chapter with Erik. Their reconciliation could have ended like the others had, with death and the overwhelming feeling of grief – like someone had reached into Charles’ chest and crushed his heart. But it didn’t. It ended with a repeat of that momentous event played out years ago.

Charles had chased Erik out, eyes wide with fear at losing him again. “Erik, you could stay here,” he had said. “We’re your family.” Erik had continued walking but Charles had seen the slight falter in his steps. Then Erik had stopped and turned round and there was a flash of a younger Erik, one from years ago, walking back into the office and staring at Charles. That was the minute that had changed Charles’ life, a split second decision and a few steps into a room. “You decided to stay,” Charles had said; an echo of his former self making him smile.

 

“How long have you been in love with me?” Charles led Erik to a quieter side of the room as the new song came on, a quicker pace that had Raven leading the others into a fast dance Charles wanted no part in.

“You told me I wasn’t alone.” Erik sat down and promptly pulled the brunette onto his lap.

“That was the first time we met.”

“Yes, it was.” Erik’s pupils were dilated, Charles realised, as they stared at each other. It was like Erik was a particularly troublesome algorithm Charles wanted to decipher. The harder he tried, the harder it became but if Charles just relaxed, like now, and looked as if seeing him for the first time, everything would become clear to him.

“If time can’t break our bond,” Charles said, quietly, “I don’t think we should let a disagreement distance us. I don’t want to lose you again, Erik.”

Erik didn’t speak. Words weren’t a necessity when he kissed Charles, hand stroking his cheek. The meeting of their lips was an unspoken promise. They wouldn’t lose each other again. Erik was Charles’ lifeline and Charles was Erik’s. If they were separated, they would both break, the rope would fray and then, with a firm finality, it would snap.

“I think that losing you would break me.” Erik was never one for pet names but he seemed genuinely affectionate as he said, “I think that we’re destined to be together, my love. Everything brings us together, again and again.”

 

Charles was still thinking about this, hours later, when he was in bed, listening to Erik’s steady breathing. The nightmares hadn’t stopped, for either of them, but they weren’t as bad as they used to be. Erik still woke up, his child’s name on his lips, but it took less time to comfort him back to a restful sleep.

It was no secret that he believed that he and Erik were meant to be – it was easy to think that, given their connection. But when had he started thinking that? When had _he_ fallen in love with him?

Maybe it had been way back, when Erik stayed with them, with Charles. He had fallen in love with him decades ago, when Raven was still his sister, when the mansion not a school but a home, when they were young and arrogant. He’d realised that he was in love with Erik left, taking Charles’ heart with him. The hole that he’d left couldn’t be filled, not by drink or drugs or teaching or women or men. He’d come back. Then he’d left again. Then he’d come back.

 _It’s only a matter of time before he leaves again_ , he thought, a sob escaping him. Erik stirred but Charles willed him back to sleep. Instead of sharing his thoughts with Erik, he walked out of the room, listening in the silence for any stray thoughts. The remaining mutants in the school were asleep, all apart from Peter.

Charles made his way down to Peter’s room, smiling at the fact that Peter was trying to beat his high score at some video game. Most people were kept awake by troubles but not Peter. He was the happiest adult in the school, at any moment. He waited for a second by the open door, watching the blur of fingers manoeuvre Pac-Man through the maze.

“Come in,” Peter said and Charles did so, closing the door behind him. He didn’t want anyone eavesdropping. Jean was safely asleep. “I’m guessing that this is about my dad. Have you two fallen out again?”

“I’m scared,” Charles confessed. Peter barely looked up from his game but he frowned. “Erik, he’s always left me before. He left me for his mad mutant crusade-”

“That’d be a cool name for a video game.”

“-and then he left me to become a fugitive and he got a child and a wife.” Charles sighed. “What if he leaves me?”

“The other times,” Peter said, “he left you because of something that happened. Cuba – and he told me all about Cuba and by God, he loved you, he said – and him almost killing a load of old guys-”

“Influential people.”

Peter shrugged. “They were old white guys. He was a fugitive. He had no choice but to leave or he’d been imprisoned.”

“I would have helped him. I would have-I don’t get why he didn’t see that I would have done anything to help him. I still will.” Charles collapsed on a beanbag then cursed when he almost fell to the floor. “How do you sit on these?”

“Get up, old man.” There was a flash and Charles was suddenly outside of his bedroom, hearing footsteps from inside. “Tell Dad.”

“Tell him what?”

“That you love him. Then go to bed.” Peter pulled him into an unexpected hug. “You make him really happy. Keep doing that.”

The door opened and he was gone.

Erik stared at Charles, eyes soft. “Are you okay?” Charles nodded. “Where did you go?”

As a substitute of a real answer, Charles just smiled and stepped forward, pushing Erik against the wall to kiss him, hands resting on his bare chest. “I love you,” he said, quietly. “Erik, I love you.” Erik muttered something in German, eyes shining.

In that moment, Charles decided. He decided to take Peter’s advice. They’d been apart for so long that he couldn’t spend another minute scared. He wanted to be happy. He deserved that. And when something world-changing happened, next time they’d been on the same side, all of the time.

“Charles?”

The word prompted Charles to grin, nerves taking over his earlier confidence. “Erik, oh, Erik,” he whispered. “I love you, so much.”

“I love you too.”

“No, I really love you. I…will you do me the great honour of marrying me?” Charles asked.

“We can’t get married, Charles.”

“There are old ceremonies, ones that meant more to people than pieces of paper. Legally, we wouldn’t be married but spiritually, we would.” Charles kissed Erik, softly. “And since when have you cared about the government’s opinion?”

“Are you goading me into marrying you?”

“Is it working?”

Erik laughed and looked around. Outside of the window, he saw the snow falling and it reminded him of the time a few years ago when he’d been playing in the snow with his daughter. He’d said, “ _Charles would have loved this,_ ” and of course she asked who that was. He had told her that he was an old friend, omitting the small details, like the fact that he loved him, still, even as he loved his wife. She had said, ever so gently, _“did you love your friend?_ ” and he’d nodded, overcome with tears, and hugged her to his chest. She would have loved Charles, and vice versa.

Pain squeezed his heart like it was in a vice. “Charles, I would…yes, yes, I’ll marry you,” he said, finally. Charles kissed him again and as he did so, Erik swore he heard his daughter’s laughter. That must be a sign, he thought.

After all, he deserved his happy ever after.

**Author's Note:**

> It took me so long to write this! But I'm kind of happy with how I ended it so yay.
> 
> Comment any suggestions for future fanfiction. Thank you for reading!
> 
> Please kudos and comment.


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